Service Chiefs Tell Panel of Risks to ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Repeal

WASHINGTON — The commandant of the Marine Corps and the chiefs of staff of the Army and Air Force sternly warned a Senate panel on Friday that now was not the time to allow gay men and women to serve openly in the armed forces.

But in a hearing about whether to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the 17-year-old policy that requires gay or bisexual military men and women to keep their sexual orientation secret or face discharge, all three said the military should, or at least could, repeal the law in the future.

Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the chief of staff of the Army, appeared to have moved from an earlier position of serious concern about repeal to one of reluctant willingness. He told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he could not recommend repeal right now because it would add stress and complications for combat units. But, he added, “Properly implemented, I do not envision that it would keep us from accomplishing our worldwide missions, including combat operations.”

General Casey, whose views carry weight because he commands the largest of the services, concluded that the military could handle repeal with “moderate risk” to its ability to do its job. A Pentagon study released this week on the effect of repeal concluded that the risk would be low, an assessment shared by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

As expected, Gen. James F. Amos, the commandant of the Marine Corps, remained the most opposed to repeal among the service chiefs, and he took a hard line. “If the law is changed, successfully implementing repeal and assimilating openly homosexual Marines into the tightly woven fabric of our combat units has strong potential for disruption at the small unit level,” he told the panel.

Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, the chief of staff of the Air Force, recommended not carrying out any repeal until 2012 because of the strain the military is bearing now. “I do not agree with the study assessment that the short-term risk to military effectiveness is low,” he said. He added that his forces in Afghanistan were carrying a heavy load.

The hearing was relatively serene compared with one on Thursday, when Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, who has been the leading opponent to repeal on Capitol Hill, tensely squared off with Mr. Gates and Admiral Mullen, who both have said it is urgent that Congress change the law. Mr. McCain held back from the service chiefs on Friday, although he made it clear that he remained adamantly opposed and that he considered the debate over gay and bisexual people serving openly in the military as little more than a sideshow.

“Our economy is in the tank and the American people want that issue addressed,” Mr. McCain told the service chiefs. “And the military is functioning in the most efficient, most professional, most courageous fashion.” He concluded that it was wrong “to somehow believe that this is some kind of compelling issue.”

Nonetheless, there seemed a sense of inevitability among Republicans on the panel that repeal of the law, a campaign promise of President Obama, would eventually occur, although perhaps not in the current Congress. The House has voted to authorize repeal, and there appear to be enough “yes” votes in the current Senate, but it is unclear whether there is enough time left before the end of the year for the measure to advance.

One Republican member of the Armed Services Committee, Senator Scott P. Brown of Massachusetts, said Friday that he supported repeal, which was a switch from his vote in the spring against changing the policy.

Of the three service chiefs who oppose repeal at present, General Casey appeared to be the one most swayed by the results of the Pentagon study. The review found deep concerns about changing the law among combat forces but concluded that 70 percent of service members over all thought repeal would have little effect on the ability of their units to work together.

As General Casey explained it, the presumption underpinning “don’t ask, don’t tell” is “that the presence of a gay or lesbian service member in a unit causes an unacceptable risk to good order and discipline.” He told the panel: “After reading the report, I don’t believe that’s true anymore and I don’t believe a substantial majority of our soldiers believe that’s true.”

When General Schwartz recommended a delay until 2012, the time frame seemed to exasperate Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, who is chairman of the Armed Services Committee and who has long supported repeal. “Why is 2012 the right time?” Mr. Levin asked General Schwartz. “There may be people in combat.”

“You don’t know how many people will be in combat in 2012, and yet, ‘Hey, do it then, not now,’ ” Mr. Levin said. A short time later he concluded that “delaying this until 2012 is totally arbitrary.”

Both sides cited comments from active-duty service members to make their cases. General Amos, for example, read aloud comments that a Marine platoon commander made about his unit in an online survey: “Despite differences, we are so close that we anticipate each other’s next move in garrison and in combat. Our ability to do our job is predicated on this kind of relationship. If you were to add any element of sexual competition, intra-unit sexuality or hesitance in trust, it would unquestionably prevent those bonds from forming or immediately destroy them if introduced.”

But a short time later, Mr. Levin looked at General Amos and read aloud a quote in the Pentagon’s report from a Special Operations commando: “We have a gay guy in the unit,” Mr. Levin read. “He’s big, he’s mean and he kills lots of bad guys. No one cared that he was gay.”

Three other military officials at the hearing supported repeal of the law right now: Gen. James E. Cartwright, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Adm. Gary Roughead, the chief of naval operations; and Adm. Robert J. Papp Jr., the commandant of the Coast Guard.

A version of this article appears in print on December 4, 2010, on page A13 of the New York edition with the headline: Debate Shifts to When to End ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe